


Doki Doki Online

by ArenLuxon



Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel), Sword Art Online
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Gen, Mystery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-05-16 01:08:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14801454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArenLuxon/pseuds/ArenLuxon
Summary: When several suspicious suicides take place after the release of a new game, Kirito is send on a new mission





	1. Chapter 1

[Will you write the way into her heart?] The screen displayed.

"This seems a bit silly," Kazuto said. "It's not even designed for virtual reality."

"Like I said," Kikuoka repeated. "Forty-one suicides this month only."  
"Why do people keep playing it then?"

"They seem to be under the impression it's all a big marketing stunt. Fake news, you know the drill."

"Yeah," Kazuto sighed, he sipped from his overly expensive coffee. "Can't you take it offline?"

"It's floating around everywhere. No use trying to dry a flooded room if the taps are still running."

"So you want to sent me inside?" Seriously, was this his solution for everything?

"You read me like an open book, Kirito." Kikuoka smiled and took another bite from his pudding. "You'll be adequately compensated, obviously. And I'll guarantee your safety, don't worry."

"I don't get it," Kazuto said. He drank deep from his coffee. "What do you want me to do? Dive in and find out how they do it? It's impossible to kill someone using an Amusphere, we've established this before." He was even sitting in the exact same spot as before.

Kikuoka took another bite from his pudding. He slowly chewed it before replying. "Like I said, all deaths were suicides. Autopsies have confirmed this. The only suspicious thing is that their logs showed they had been playing the game just before. We don't even know if the game has anything to do with it."

"But…?" He sensed there was more going on here.

"I have some agents inside. They all confirmed it's a terrifying game that messes with your head."

" _This_?" Kazuto pointed at the screen, which still displayed a large heart with four smiling girls.

"The game seems to be playing you rather than the other way around. I believe they mess with your head to drive you to suicide, some kind of psychological trickery."

"And sending me in is going to help? Are you trying to get me killed? Do you even have-"

"Ah." Kikuoka raised a finger. "We do have something more. Look at this."

He operated the screen and loaded another video. It showed the credits with some visuals and a background song.

"Wait a minute." He saw the picture vanish when it reached the top. An error showed up.

"Exactly," Kikuoka said. "If you complete the game it will delete itself."

"I see."

"But here's what really interesting." He went to the last part of the video.

[You've reached the standard ending. Reinstall the game and try to reach the  _Fulfilling_  ending next time to shut down the Core.]

"So there are two endings?" Kazuto asked. "What's this Core?"

"You need an internet connection to play the game. It reroutes you through several VPN's until you reach the Core. I believe that this is the server of the creator."

"So upon finding the true ending, a signal is sends which shuts the server down?"

"Yes, that's what it looks like. Probably some coded message which activates a script. Without the server, all games should stop working."

"And you can't hack your way into the server?"

Kikuoka laughed. "Through VPN's? Good luck with that. Besides," his voice turned serious. "There is another problem."

"Hm?"

"The game has an automatic streaming modus."

"You mean… people can watch you play it?"

"Yes. You just have to type someone's username and if they are playing at that time, you can watch them. You can even communicate with them if the player accepts your request."

"Does it keep logs?" Kazuto asked. An idea was forming in his head.

"No, only live watching. We haven't yet watched anyone who killed himself afterwards. There are simply too many players to keep track off."

"Too bad." His plan was no good after all. If they could not check the logs from the players, it was hard to say if the game was involved at all. Still,  _forty-one_ suic-

"In any case," Kikuoka said. "This also means that the creator can tell if someone is getting close to the ending. And if we hack our way in…"

He didn't have to finish that sentence. Who knew how much people were influenced by this game? For all they knew everyone could be driven to suicide at any time.

Kazuto finished his coffee, but his throat stayed dry for some reason. "How many people have installed it now?" He tried making his voice sound casual but was only moderately successful.

"About a million. But it's still growing, so-"

"A  _million_? You know what that means right? There are a million people in great danger right now. For all we know they could die any second."

Kikuoka calmly finished his pudding. Then, he looked at Kirito and raised an eyebrow. "Why do you think I asked you?"


	2. Chapter 2

"And so, he asked me to dive inside," Kirito finished.

A silence fell.

"That's completely irresponsible, Onii-chan," Leafa said. "Surely you don't mean to go along with this?"

"People are  _dying_ ," Kirito argued.

"I'm not letting you go," Asuna said. "Not alone."

"It's not an MMO," he said. "Everyone plays individually, you can't come with me."

"You mentioned streaming," Asuna said. "And communication."

"I'll be with you too, Papa," Yui said. She landed on his shoulder.

"As if I have a choice," Kirito sighed. Clearly, Asuna would not let this go. And in all honesty, he didn't mind if there was someone to give him some advice when he was in there. This wasn't the type of game he usually played.

"I wanna watch too," Leafa said.

"Yeah," Lisbeth added. "Let us watch too."

"Yeah," Silica finished.

"Hold on," Klein said. "It's useless for all of us to watch him. And we'll distract him too much."

"I agree," Kirito said. "If all of you communicate with me, it'll be hard to concentrate."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Leafa argued. "Just sit here?"

"We don't have to," Klein said. "Are there any records of the game?"

"That's the strange thing," Kirito said. "There's no walkthrough of any kind. Kikuoka has a few videos, but he had a hard time getting them. The game seems to block recording equipment."

"Very strange. And no blog posts or anything?"

"No. And no one wants to talk about it.  _MMO stream_  tried to do an interview with a player, but they didn't find anyone who wanted to talk."

"I don't like the sound of this," Asuna said. "Do you really want to go?"

"I have to," Kirito said simply.

"Very strange," Klein said. "Shouldn't that guy know more? Why is he sending you in blind?"

"I don't know."

"We can gather more info," Sinon interjected. "You said you only need a username to watch someone play. If we try the usernames of SAO-survives and Alfheim players we might get a match. Then we can gather more info."

"Good idea." Odds are that some of them would try that game.

"I want to know more about the company that released this," Klein said.

"They are called Team Salvato," Kirito said. "All their names are pseudonyms."

"Still, we could get a clue this way," Klein said. "Surely someone must know them. I'll ask Agil about it."

"Alright."

"When are you going to dive?" Asuna asked.

"Tomorrow."

* * *

Kazuto parked his motorcycle outside the hospital. It was raining hard, but he had some cover here.

He stored away his helmet and then checked his phone. It was a bit early, but it was unlikely anyone would mind. And he was not planning to stand out here in the cold.

With resolute steps, he went inside.

"She's waiting for you," the girl at the desk said. She still recognised him from last time.

He nodded.

Kazuto took the elevator up and walked the hallway to the correct room. Room 7025.

"Good morning, Kazuto-kun," a cheerful voice said.

As expected, Nurse Aki Natsuki had been assigned to him once again.

"Morning," he said.

"You're early," she said. "Couldn't wait to see me?"

Kikuoka must have assigned her to him again on purpose.

Her hands touched his arm. "You're strong. I'd say you're even stronger than before the whole incident. But I don't know of course."

"I practise," he said dismissively.

"We'll see soon enough," she said with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah." With a sigh, he unzipped his coat and put it over the chair. His shirt quickly followed.

"Impressive," she said, staring at his bare chest.

"I have a girlfriend, you know?"

"I know," she smiled.

Right, that reminded him.

He fished out his phone from his pocket.

Kazuto texted 'ready' to Asuna. After a short hesitation, he added a little heart and pressed  _send_.

Then, he put his phone on the chair with his clothes.

"All done?" She asked.

"Yeah." He sat down on the bed.

Aki sat down next to him and connected the electrodes. She touched him more than she really needed to, but he was used to that.

"I'll pull you out of something happens," Aki assured him. "Don't worry."

"Okay." He put on the AmuSphere. "I'll be out for a few hours I guess."

"Alright."

He laid down and took a deep breath.

"Link Start!"

Bright white light assaulted his vision.

The AmuSphere went through the usual check without trouble. When it was done, it showed him a list of programs.

He navigated to DDLC and opened the game.

The screen changed again.

'This game is not suitable for children or those easily disturbed'. The disturbing message was projected with white letters for a moment, and then it faded away.

'Team Salvato' showed with a simple cube logo. Then, the main menu loaded with generic background music. It was projected onto a flat plane.

It was a traditional main menu for VN's. In the corner were five options:

_New game_

_Load game_

_Settings_

_Help_

_Quit_

These were written in a rather silly looking font. The color was bright pink, obviously. Above that, a heart proclaimed: Doki Doki Literature Club.

Next to this, what he presumed were the four main heroines showed. He could already sense their types.

The first girl was probably the childhood friend. Her big smile was a dead giveaway. Behind her was a girl with long purple-black hair that was ninety percent certain the composed Ojousama. Next to her was a small girl with pink hair that was probably the cute junior who was 'over thirteen, we swear'.

Which left only one girl at the very front. He had a hard time placing her. It was a girl with a big white ribbon in her hair.

He had played a few datings sims in the past and this all looked very familiar.

But there was something off.

He operated the menu of the AmuSphere to summon Yui.

The little pixie girl appeared.

"Hey Papa," she said.

"Hey. Do you happen to know which program was used for this game?"

"Hold on." She closed her eyes for a second. "Ren'Py."

"You can run that on an AmuSphere?"

"It's the 3D-version," Yui said.

"Strange."

Anyway, he should probably start.

Kazuto walked to the screen and pressed 'new game'.

A pink prompt popped up.

'Please enter your name'

Kazuto used the virtual keyboard to type 'Kirito' and pressed 'ok'.

The trigger warning showed again.

Seriously, what was up with this game?

His surroundings came into view.

He was standing in a street in what seemed to be a normal suburb.

"Heeeeeeeyyy!" A female voice yelled.

Kirito wheeled around. He saw a girl running towards him. It was the girl from the cover. The childhood friend type with her yellowish-orange hair and red ribbon.

She was waving her hands around, uncaring of the attention she drew to herself.

Kirito looked around. There were other people on the street looking at them. They all had pretty generic designs.

Testing the waters, he walked across the street.

No one looked at him. They kept staring at the girl who had reached his position and now froze in place. She literally froze. Before, she was running, and now her feet were floating in the air, uncaring about gravity.

A little grey note floated in the lower right corner of his vision.

'Game paused'

A helpful pink arrow pointed to the girl.

His initial guess had been correct it seemed.

A little bell sounded.

'Communication request: Asuna. Accept?'

He pressed 'yes'.

[Kirito? Can you hear me?]

"Loud and clear," he said.

[Good. I was worried this wouldn't work.]

A second request came. He accepted as well.

[Papa? I couldn't follow you inside. I was worried.]

"Don't worry. I'm fine," he assured them. "This is a normal game."

[It doesn't look like it,] Asuna said.

"What do you see?"

[Your vision is projected on my TV. We see through your eyes.]

"Oh, okay." He should make sure he didn't make too many sudden movements or she would get motion sick.

[I see a girl. But she's not moving. This is weird, Kirito-kun.]

"You don't see the text?"

[What text?]

"There's text on my view. The game is paused because I walked away. If I walk back to her, it will continue."

[Oh.]

"Which I was just planning to do."

[Alright.]

Luckily Asuna hadn't seen the trigger warning at the start of the game.

He walked back to the frozen girl.

When he was within two steps, she unfroze.

"I overslept again," the girl proclaimed. "But I caught you."

A pink window floated in front of him, very similar to the communication request. There was only one option to pick from.

'Only because I waited for you.'

Hm.

"Good morning," Kirito tried.

She didn't react. Her face remained frozen in her flustered expression.

So this was how his dialogue was done?

Kirito pressed the only choice he had.

"You're so mean," she said immediately (her lips weren't perfectly in sync with the words). "You were thinking about ignoring me."

She puffed up her cheeks.

More text appeared on his view.

'Sayori is my childhood friend. We used to walk together to school every day, but then she started oversleeping.'

The text displayed for a moment and then made way for another dialogue choice.

'I don't want people to think we're a couple or something.'

Kirito tested whether he could walk away.

He confirmed this was possible. The dialogue screen remained in place where he had stood.

When he was too far away the 'game paused' notice showed up with an arrow pointing to where his dialogue screen was floating.

He wondered whether he should investigate.

It was pretty clear this world did not respond to anything he did. But if he just kept walking away, what would happen?

Presumably the game would stop at some point. They couldn't have implemented an infinite world.

He tried going to the house he was standing in front of.

The door opened without any trouble.

Kirito walked upstairs.

He opened one of the four doors.

Wow.

There was only darkness behind that door.

He held out his hand.

[Kirito,] Asuna warned him.

"My real body is lying in a hospital," Kirito said confidently. "Nothing can happen to me."

He touched the darkness and pushed. It didn't bulge under his touch. This was a solid barrier.

A notice showed in grey.

'Area not implemented'.

So this is what happened if he reached the end of the map?

[Shouldn't you be playing the game, Papa?] Yui suggested. [That girl is waiting for you.]

"She's not a girl," Kirito said. "She's not even an AI. She's a sprite who rattles of the pre-recorded lines. If I would wait a few hours, she would still speak the exact same lines."

[What are you hoping to find, Kirito?] Asuna asked.

"A clue." He tried the other rooms.

The bathroom worked as well.

He tried turning on the tap, but no water came out.

Not surprising.

There was one more room which wasn't darkness.

This had to be the player's room.

He took a random book of the bookshelf. There was no title or cover, just a solid red hardcover. When he opened it, he found all the pages were blank.

Next, he tried the remote of the tv, but the screen didn't respond.

The bed did feel like a real bed. The sensation was very similar to SAO or Alfheim Online. They had probably implemented fulldive surroundings on limited settings.

It didn't look like he would find many clues here.

He moved his fingers to summon the menu.

His left hand didn't work, but his right one did. This was the SAO way.

The menu was very limited. A save button, a load button, an options button and a quit button. All were pink, obviously.

He pressed 'save game'.

A menu showed up. He picked an empty frame and his game was saved there.

He could see the date and name of his character. His current view of the room showed as well.

[Kirito? Are you still there? The screen froze.]

"I'm saving my game," he said. Looked like Asuna couldn't see any of the menus.

He checked out the options screen but there were only generic things like volume of sound effects and such. There was also an option to adapt the speed of the text that played.

Kirito closed it again.

There was nothing suspicious about this game. It was a bit strange someone had gone through the trouble to put it into the AmuSphere since this had very little added value to the game itself. But from everything he had seen so far, this was a normal dating simulator.

The only thing left to do was go back and play it through to see what happened.

But something kept nagging at him.

If this was a normal game, what was up with that trigger warning?

If he didn't know Kikuoka had no sense of humor, he would think this was all a joke. Suicides? Over  _this_? What a joke. This was just a silly dating simulator.

Sure, he could understand people got attached to the characters. The voice acting was solid and the artwork was quite good. Klein would certainly enjoy himself in this world. But  _suicide_? No, this made no sense.

There had to be something more going on here.

"Yui? Can you get into the directory?" He asked.

[Already on it, Papa. There is a folder with four character files, but it has a weird extension, I can't open any of them. There's also a script, but it seems to be coded. The only things I can open is the copyright notice and the help file. And some of the music loads as well.]

So no clues there. He should have known it wouldn't be that simple.

"Is there a log?"

[The help function mentions you can open the log by swiping upwards. The opposite of the main menu.]

He put his fingers together and made an upwards motion.

Text filled his view.

He saw the lines the girl, Sayori, had spoken. The dialogue 'choices' of his character Kirito also showed as well as the remarks in between about how this was his childhood friend.

He dismissed the screen.

Kirito got up from the bed. He wouldn't get anywhere like this. He needed more information.

The only thing he could do was actually play the game the way it was supposed to be played.

He walked back outside.

Sayori was still waiting for him to make the only dialogue choice he had.

Kirito took a deep breath.

Here goes nothing.


	3. Chapter 3

The game progressed pretty standard. He was introduced to the Literature Club and its four members: clumsy childhood friend Sayori, timid long-haired Yuri, junior tsundere Natsuki (who had made cupcakes which he unfortunately could not actually eat) and lastly, mature Monika, the club president. Under light peer pressure, he joined the club. He was semi-forced to write a poem which was a minigame. Several words were written in a notebook and it looked like he had to select the ones he liked..

At the bottom he saw three little chibis of Yuri, Natsuki and Sayori. 1/20 was displayed as well. A helpful message said that 'something good might happen' if he picked the right words.

"Can you see them, Asuna?" He asked.

[Yeah.]

"You think selecting different words will change the relationship with the girls?"

[Most likely.]

He selected 'efficacious'.

The Yuri-chibi jumped up.

Like he had thought. Yuri had a preference for complicated words and horror themes. Natsuki probably had a preference for anime, food and video games and Sayori would like words like 'love' and 'adventure'.

"Strange," he said.

[No Monika, yeah I've noticed,] Asuna said.

"Why introduce a character without a romance route in a dating sim?"

[This is not a dating sim, Kirito. Don't be fooled. Dozens of people have died already.]

"Right. But who should I pick?"

[I don't think it matters.]

"You're right." He would probably have to play all the routes anyway. "Let's go with Yuri this time."

He picked another word that looked complicated which caused Yuri-chibi to jump up again.

Kirito continued to operate the menu. He managed to pick Yuri most of the time, but sometimes the game surprised him. 'Scars' and 'Tragedy' for example were Sayori words. Shouldn't this be related to Yuri's horror preference? He never stumbled across any Natsuki words however.

A new day started. The game skipped the walk to the school and immediately dropped him in the clubroom. Monika suggested they exchange their poems. It was still very strange. This couldn't be her only purpose in this game.

Unless of course…

Maybe if he divided the words equally among the other three girls he would eventually end up with Monika. But that would be a very strange move from the developers.

Best to try it out after his Yuri playthrough.

A menu came up. He could select who to show his poem to first.

Obviously, he picked Yuri.

Apparently his poem hadn't actually been written since he had to hand her an empty paper. She 'read' it and said she really liked his style, although it was lacking a bit in experience.

He chuckled. Clearly, the writer of this game hadn't gone through the trouble of actually writing different poems for the player.

Yui started discussing his imaginary poem while Kirito tried to stay serious. She was praising a poem that didn't exist. It was so obviously fake he couldn't help but laugh.

Dan Salvato had however written real poems for the characters.

Yuri handed him a poem titled: 'Ghost Under the Light.'

"Yui, can you record this? We might need it later."

[On it.]

He read it through. It was a short poem about someone standing under a streetlight. The last line read:

_The light flickers._

_I flicker back._

It wasn't half bad. There was lots of visual language in the poem.

His character told Yuri he liked the poem, which was actually pretty accurate.

She explained how the poem wasn't about a ghost it all, but rather a symbolic meaning. He didn't really understand much of it. If she wanted to say something, why not just say it explicitly? Why go through the trouble of making things vague?

His character said she had a nice handwriting and she blushed at that.

They were laying it on a bit thick. Of course, he had picked the Yuri route, but to make her fall in love with him in five minutes was a bit forced.

He moved to Monika next. She showed him a poem called: 'Hole in the Wall.'

It was a strange poem. It described someone looking through a hole. The last lines in particular stuck with him.

_A hole of infinite choices._

_I realize now, that I wasn't looking in._

_I was looking out._

_And he, on the other side, was looking in._

A similar theme to Yuri it seemed.  _The light flickers, I flicker back_ ; _I look into the hole, someone on the other side looks back._

Only this disturbed him more.

[She's talking about you, Kazuto,] Asuna said.

"What do you mean?"

[She's been making jokes that break the fourth wall before. This is the fourth wall. The hole is your connection to the game.]

"Right. So I'm on 'the other side' looking back at her? That makes sense."

[And the infinite possibilities refers to the real world with infinite choices.]

"That's a fun little joke," he said. Monika had indeed been making little references like 'don't forget to save your game' that indicated she knew this was a game.

[It's weird. She's not talking about your character, but the you lying in the hospital.]

"Not really. This is just a joke. These lines were written before I entered. If you would lie in that hospital bed, the exact same lines would show."

[But some people might forget about that and believe she is actually talking to you personally.]

"She's an NPC, nothing more. She can't do any complicated actions, only pre-programmed ones. There's no way she can adapt well enough to individual players to have an effect like that. Besides, she doesn't even have a playable route."

[Just be careful.]

"Okay."

He showed his 'poem' to Sayori next.

Sayori liked his poem as well. Her own poem was called: 'Dear Sunshine'. It was a cute poem about the sun which asked her to come out and play and wish away a rainy day.

_If it wasn't for you, I could sleep forever._

_But I'm not mad._

_I want breakfast._

After some prying, she admitted to quickly making it in the morning. His character made a reference to her being an airhead.

Lastly, he showed his poem to Natsuki. She bluntly said his 'poem' was bad. Basically it wasn't cute enough for her taste, like his character suggested. With great reluctance, she showed him her own poem. It was called: 'Eagles Can Fly'.

It was, as he had expected, a cute poem about animals with a rhyme scheme that was slightly inconsistent.

_Eagles can fly_

_Humans can try_

_But that's about it_

It wasn't a bad poem. But it didn't really seem to carry much meaning. Either that, or he was completely missing it.

[It's about giving up,] Asuna said.

"Huh?"

[Isn't it obvious? Humans can't fly like eagles or swim like fish. You can't overcome certain limits.]

"But… we can. Just get in an airplane or a submarine. The thing that makes us human is that we  _don't_ have limits. We're overcoming our physical limitations with technical solutions every day."

[It's a poem, Kirito-kun. It's about giving up when you realise you can't overcome a certain barrier. Accepting defeat rather than fighting a hopeless battle.]

"Right."

Natsuki and Yuri exchanged their poems as well.

They both had a strained expression when reading them.

"It's uhm… cute," Yuri said.

"Hmph," Natsuki pouted. "You completely missed the symbolism. It's clearly about giving up."

Hey, Asuna was right.

"I knew that," Yuri quickly said. "But, the language…"

"What about the language?" Venom dripped into Natsuki's voice. "Not fancy enough for you?"

"I… I was just trying to say something nice," Yuri stammered.

"You mean you had to try really hard to come up with something nice to say?"

"I… I have some suggestions, if you-"

"If I wanted suggestions I would have asked someone who liked it," Natsuki said coldly.

"I…" Yuti was completely at a loss now.

"Kirito liked it," tsundere-girl said proudly.

"What, no I didn't," Kirito argued, but he was ignored.

"Kirito," Yuri mumbled. "Liked mine too. He said he was impressed by it."

"Oh, I didn't realise you cared so much about his opinion," Natsuki teased her.

"I… I don't," Yuri stammered.

Natsuki showed a satisfied expression.

"Maybe you're just jealous he appreciated my advice more," Yuri blurted out.

"You can't know that," Natsuki said. "Are you so full of yourself?"

"If I was full of myself, I would try to make everything I do overly cute."

Natsuki puffed up her cheeks. "I'm not the one whose boobs grew a size bigger when Kirito walked in."

A deadly silence fell. Well, it was silent, safe for Kirito who was suppressing a chuckle.

Yuri's hands went to hide her chest. An attempt that hardly worked due to its size.

[You didn't pick her for the size of her chest, did you?] Asuna asked.

"Of course not," he said quickly.

[Yeah right.]

"Don't distract me, Asuna, I'm in the game."

"Hey girls," Monika tried to intervene.

"Kirito," Yuri said, turning to him. "She's just trying to make me look bad."

"She's the one who started it," Natsuki argued. "If she just admitted that poems with simple language are more effective we wouldn't have gotten into this situation."

"But…" Yuri stammered.

"What's the point in making your poems all convoluted?"

"I'm surprised you know the meaning of  _convoluted_ , Natsuki."

"Uhm," Sayori tried intervening but they both threw her a venomous look and she backed off.

"Kirito," Yuri turned to him. "What do you think?"

As he had expected they turned to him to settle it. For the first time ever, he was given multiple choices. 'Side with Natsuki', 'side with Yuri' or 'ask Sayori for help'.

He picked the option to side with Yuri. Since he was following her route, it made sense to do this.

As expected, both Monika and Sayori took Yuri's side as well when he did. Natsuki got angry. She grabbed her poem and stormed out. On her way to the door, she crumbled up her poem and threw it in the trash.

He spotted Yuri. She was sitting down at a desk in the corner. Her head was resting on her arms in a defeated position.

A helpful arrow showed he had to approach her to continue the game. He briefly wondered what would happen if he followed Natsuki instead. Would there be a different route?

He saved his game in a separate slot so he could try that out later.

First, the Yuri-route.

Kirito picked up a chair and sat next to her.

[Are you alright?] His character dialogue displayed.

"I'm so embarrassed," she said as she looked up. "I said all those mean things."

"It's okay," Kirito said out loud. He put his hand on her arm. She paused for a moment, as if responding to his touch. But that was impossible of course.

"You probably hate me now," she said, looking away.

"No, I don't." His screen showed very similar lines. This dialogue was progressing as he had predicted. More lines showed up where his character reassured her.

Wait a minute.

If he could touch her arm without any consequences, then…

His eye fell on her impressive chest. No one responded to any of his actions, no matter what he did. So…

"Thanks," Yuri said. "You're so kind."

[Papa, why is your heart rate going up?] Yui asked.

[And why is your camera angle fixed on her chest?] Asuna added.

"Sorry." He quickly looked up at her face again.

[Unbelievable,] Asuna sighed.

"She's just an NPC," Kirito argued.

[I'm watching you,] she warned him.

"I have to test the limits in the response of the game, that's my mission."

[By touching her chest?]

"Would a harassment message show up? These are important details, Asuna. I have to know."

"I'm going to make some tea," Yuri announced.

Huh?

She stood up and walked away.

Damn. He had missed the rest of their conversation.

Kirito quickly summoned his backlog to read what he had missed. Not much it turned out.

Sayori was suddenly next to him.

"Shall we go home?" she suggested.

As if to mess with him, he was only given one option.

Maybe if he followed Yuri right now…

He once again saved his game in a separate slot. For now, it was best to go along with the story and try out fancy things later.

He picked the only option available which was 'yes'.

On their way out they almost bumped into Yuri who came back with a pitcher of water. A part splashed on the ground.

"Sorry," Yuri said. "I'm so clumsy." She blushed deep red.

"It's okay," Sayori said. "Let me help." She went back in the clubroom.

"Are you leaving?" Yuri asked him.

[Yeah.]

"I uhm… I almost forgot, but I wanted to give you something." She opened her bag and pulled out a book. "Here."

He accepted it. It had a red cover with an eye on it. It was called: 'The Portrait of Markov'.

"I thought you might like this," she explained. "It's a short read. We could uhm… discuss it, if you wanted to." Her eyes didn't meet his.

[Thanks a lot.]

Sayori returned with a rag to clean up the spilled water.

"Yui?" He asked.

[On it… Andrey Markov. A Russian mathematician from the nineteenth century. Best known for Markov chains.]

He had heard about those before. "Anything interesting there?"

[Doesn't seem like it. It looks like a random choice.]

"Okay."

He opened the book. It was empty, as he had expected. But the ominous eye bothered him. Was this just a random choice too?

"See you tomorrow," Yuri said.

She left them.

The screen faded to black and suddenly he was standing back in front of his house.

There was a little conversation with Sayori.

His character dropped some hints he wanted to get into a romantic relationship with the girls (especially Yuri). It was pretty obvious by now Sayori had a crush on him as well. They said their goodbyes.

The game guided him inside the empty house and to his room. He put down the book on the nightstand. When he laid down on the bed, the words minigame showed back up like last time.

Kirito saved the game and logged out. He removed the AmuSphere from his head.

"Welcome back," nurse Aki said.

"Everything still okay here?" he asked.

"All your vitals are normal. You heart rate did go up at one point."

"That was nothing," he quickly said.

"If you say so."

"I'm gonna stretch my legs a bit," he said. He had been diving for more than an hour already.

Kazuto removed the sensors and put on his shirt again.

"Is it really as scary as they say?" Aki asked.

"It's not," Kazuto replied. "I don't understand it at all."

"Maybe the scary part still coming," she said.

"Yeah, maybe. See you later. I'm just gonna take a walk."

"Okay."

He had been playing for over an hour and it looked like a cute little dating sim. Only one thing disturbed him: that book Yuri had handed him. There was more going on there. It couldn't be just a random book.

Markov chains were used to predict future outcomes based solely upon the current state and the probability of changing to another state. But how could that be relevant to the game?

The only thing he could think of was that Markov chains could be used to make a rudimentary AI. But the girls were just NPC's, so that didn't make any sense.

He kept thinking and turning it over, but no brilliant insight hit him.

"Ah, you're back," Aki said. "Someone called you."

He took out his phone.

_Kikuoka._

Kazuto called him back.

"Hello?"

"Something happened?" he asked without any introduction.

"We've got another victim," Kikuoka said.

"Okay, but-"

"He's still alive."

" _What_?"

"He took a cocktail of pills, but his mom found him and they pumped out the contents of his stomach."

"Will he make it?"

"Hard to say. He's in a coma now, but… he did leave a note. I'll send it to you."

His phone made a pinging sound. Kazuto checked out the picture.

It was scribbled on the page in a terrible handwriting. The page itself had been crumbled up and then smoothed again. It wasn't easy to make out the words.

"Just… Norira?"

"Monika," Aki said. She was looking at the picture over his shoulder.

Monika?

Yes, that was it. 'Just Monika'.

He didn't like the sound of that.

Kirito put down his phone. "I should get back to work."

He pulled off his shirt and sat down on the bed.

Aki quickly attached the electrodes again.

She threw a concerned look at the monitor. His heart rate was higher than usual.

"Be careful," she warned him.

He nodded. "Don't worry. I'll beat this game."

He put the AmuSphere on his head and took a deep breath.

"Link Start."


	4. Chapter 4

The game continued. It moved into a festival arc (five points for originality). All characters would do something and he could pick someone to help out (another point for originality). In following his initial plan, he picked Yuri. She announced she would come to his house on Sunday (for some reason she didn't want him to come to her house).

Kirito wondered whether there would be some ecchi content in this game. If it was 'not suitable for children' it was entirely possible it had some sexy scenes. Maybe that was what the trigger warning referred to? A roundabout way to say this was secretly an ecchi game. Maybe he would be touching Yuri's chest after all.

"Hey uhm, Asuna?" he asked.

[Hm?]

"You do understand that I have to go along with the route, right?"

[What do you mean?]

"Well, you know. I need to complete this game, so even if-"

[Pay attention to the game, Kirito.]

Huh?

Sayori?

What the hell was going on here?

Suddenly his character had become concerned about 'generic childhood friend' for no reason at all.

The helpful arrow told him he had to go visit her first.

Very strange. Why was this part of the Yuri-route?

Kirito saved first and then followed the game's prescribed route.

"This is very weird."

He continued to follow the route. It send him inside Sayori's house (ringing the doorbell is overrated). Sayori was in her room.

In a strange turn of events, generic childhood friend turned out to be depressed.

"Why do you think I'm late all the time?" Sayori asked. "It's because I can't find a reason to come out of bed."

Hey, hey, hold on a sec. What the hell is this? This is not the Yuri-route.

Was this a glitch?

This was clearly the Sayori-route.

Or did the game insist on giving him a harem-route?

His character cheered Sayori up a bit and hugged her, but he could tell there was an undertone in their conversation. His character liked Yuri, that much was obvious. And Sayori liked him but could not be with him.

It wasn't badly written at all. The problem was that until now, he had zero romantic moments with Sayori. It was hard to understand she had fallen in love with him when all the previous events suggested there was nothing going on between them at all. Their dynamic was normal friends through and through.

After that weird event, he went back to his own house to find Yuri waiting for him.

Kirito guided her inside. There was no one else home, obviously.

They talked a bit and Yuri explained she wanted to use scented candles to set the mood at the festival.

Kirito dimmed the lights as instructed. They were in candlelight now.

He had to admit, DDLC was pretty good at setting the right tone. Even the smell was replicated quite realistically. And Yuri looked good in candlelight.

"We also make some paper streamers," Yuri said. "With the right colors we could set a good atmosphere."

[Good idea,] his screen displayed.

Yuri took out scissors and papers from her bag. Somehow she managed to give him a papercut when handing him a colored paper. There was no pain of course, but there was quite a lot of blood.

"I'm so sorry." She took his hand and put his bleeding finger in her mouth.

What the hell?

Yuri sucked out the blood and swallowed it.

It took her several seconds before she realised herself what she had done.

"I… uhm…" she was extremely flustered. Her face had turned blood red.

The arrow showed again. It pointed to her. Beneath it was the helpful hint: 'return the favor'.

Yuri looked down with a face as if she hoped to sink through the floor.

Sensing what he had to do, he took her hand and sucked on her finger.

It felt surprisingly real.

"Kirito, you…"

[Now we're equal,] his character said.

"I…" she smiled. "Thanks. It was just a reflex, I didn't mean to make things awkward."

[It's okay.]

[That's a weird way to cheat on me, Kirito-kun,] Asuna said dryly.

"Asuna! I… I just followed the instructions on the screen."

[You never sucked on my finger.]

"You want me to?"

[That's not the point!]

"Right, sorry. But I did ask if you understood that this is a romance game. Some romantic development is bound to happen."

[You call this romantic development?]

"If it wasn't you wouldn't be jealous."

[I'm not jealous,] she insisted. [Focus on the game, Kirito-kun.]

Luckily, the rest of the 'date' went pretty uneventful. He expected a kiss of some sorts, but nothing happened.

Looks like this was a slow burn.

Strangely, he had another conversation with Sayori afterwards.

"I don't understand any of this anymore," Kirito said out loud.

Just what was this game going for?

The conversation paused at a choice.

[I love you]

[You'll always be my dearest friend.]

"Holy crap."

[What's wrong?] Asuna asked.

"These are weird options. I either have to confess to her or say she's my dearest friend."

[Well neither is fine. At this point, you're pretty much implicitly dating Yuri. You can't just confess to another girl.]

"Indeed. So the second option then?"

[Don't friendzone a depressed girl like that!]

"Well what do I do then? There's no option to gently explain I understand she is in love with me but can't respond to her feelings. I either have to be ignorant which will hurt her a lot or I have to lie to her."

[That's a cruel choice.]

Kirito sighed. "Whatever. I'll just save and try them out both."

[Good idea.]

He operated the menu to save his game. Then, he picked the friendzone option.

His conversation with Sayori continued. It was obvious she was hurt by his ignorance, but his character was completely oblivious to it.

The day ended.

Kirito sighed.

"What time is it over there?" he asked.

[Almost 8 pm.]

"Hm. Next up should be the festival. I'll play through that and then we'll call it a day."

[Okay.] Asuna yawned.

"You can stop watching," he said. "I'll tell you if something important happens."

[No, no,] she weakly protested.

"Nothing is more boring than watching someone else play a game. And I don't want you to fall asleep."

[Why not?]

"Because I wanted to pay you a visit when I'm done here."

[You didn't say that. What about my mom?]

"I wasn't gonna ask her permission. I intended to sneak in without waking her."

[And were you gonna ask my permission?]

"Once I get in, maybe."

[Unbelievable.] she paused. [I'll be waiting for you then. Don't be late or I might have lost interest.]

"In me? Impossible. I'm Kirito, the Black Swordsman, the hero that cleared Sword Art On-… Asuna? Are you still there?"

Dead silence on the other end.

[I think Mama logged off,] Yui said.

"Thanks, Yui," he said dryly. "Let's just continue this game so I can go to her."

The word game came up again. He quickly picked the Yuri words. At this point, he hardly had to think about them.

Then, the game conveniently skipped his trip to school and transported him straight in the classroom. Strangely, Sayori hadn't arrived yet.

But he did find something else. A poem, in her handwriting.

It was titled: 'get out of my head' and the contents were particularly disturbing.

"Something wrong?" Monika asked.

[I have to go,] his character replied.

The screen faded to the street. The helpful arrow pointed he had to go inside Sayori's house, as if he didn't already know that.

He ran up the stairs. Something was wrong. Really wrong.

Kirito opened the door.

What the fuck?

[Papa, your heartbeat-]

"Keep me in, Yui."

He looked again.

Sayori had hung herself from the ceiling with a rope.

Creepy music started playing, as if they wanted to add more nightmare fuel.

Had he done something wrong? How had he reached this bad ending?

He shouldn't have told her he saw her only as a friend.

Wait, he could just…

Kirito opened the menu and went to his…

Saved games?

What the hell?

Where were all his saves?

Was this a bug?

"Yui? Where are my saves?"

[I don't know, Papa. They have vanished. But there is a new file in the folder.]

"What is it called?"

[Happy thoughts. But it's written weirdly. It's a .png file.]

"Show me."

It was a crude drawing on a white background. A drawing of Sayori, recognisable from her red ribbon was hanging from a rope. Next to it, the words 'happy thoughts' were repeated three times.

_Calm down_ , he told himself. None of this was real.

Clever. Very clever. They must have programmed the game to 'take over' at this point. This of course explained the trigger warning perfectly. And the suicides.

[You should get out of there,] Asuna suddenly said.

"Asuna? Are you back?"

[Yui called me. This looks very scary. You should get out of there right now.]

"What are you talking about? The game has just begun."

[That game is playing you.]

"No it's not. I was following the Yui route and Sayori died. Isn't that strange?"

[Maybe.]

"I think this sequence always plays no matter what you do. Have you backed up my saves somewhere, Yui?"

[No. But I'll back everything up from now on.]

"Okay."

This explained everything. To a player who had been depressed before, a story like this could easily trigger bad memories.

But it was too soon to conclude that already. First, he had to see where this went.

Some more monologue displayed and then the screen faded to black.

White text displayed.

"Hold on. This is an error message."

He was put back in the main menu, only…

"Wow."

Sayori's sprite had been replaced. It was now a weird combination of various cut-out parts from the others girls. The 'new game' option was replaced with glitch text.

[It's a real Ren'Py error,] Yui said.

"Does it say something interesting?"

[References to the error. And then a line.  _Maybe it's easier if I just delete her. She's the one causing all this trouble._ ]

"Interesting."

[Sayori's character file is deleted.]

"Yui? Are you sure they can't access any other files on there?"

[I don't think so. They shouldn't have access to them. Besides, there is not much else on the AmuSphere you are using.]

"Right."

He pressed the gibberish text to start a new game.

His character started again in front of his house.

"Hee-"

The dialogue was cut short.

He saw Sayori running towards him, but then, the game glitched and she was gone.

It looked like 'Monika' had deleted Sayori from the game. Well, more accurately, the game had been programmed like this.

His surroundings blurred. He was transported to the classroom.

"Hey, Kirito-kun," a voice said.

He wheeled around.

Monika.

A dialogue started. Since Sayori was no longer here, whenever she was referenced, the game glitched for a second and then cut her out.

Monika was now the one who asked him to come to the Literature Club.

Kirito backed away from her. He had to pause this game for a second so he could think.

For a moment, Monika stopped moving, but then, the game glitched again and she stepped forward towards him.

"Is something wrong, Kirito-kun?" she asked, a smile on her face..

"What the… you can't move through frozen time."

"You look like you've seen a ghost, Kirito-kun," she said with a smile.

No, this was…

Technically, the game knew his position of course, so it could move Monika's sprite towards him. But then the line about the ghost would have to be programmed as well.

The dialogue continued as if nothing had happened.

Now he understood the trigger warning perfectly. This was a scary game.

It was all fake of course, pre-programmed to make it look real. The moving through frozen time was certainly a smart move. But in the end, it was all an illusion.

He tried to keep playing the game, but things glitched more and more. Characters moved through frozen time, their dialogue got progressively more disturbing, black dots obscured part of his screen and at times, a choice would be shown, but before he could move, the choice was made for him.

It was pretty obvious what the game was going for now. Monika was supposedly self-aware and was messing with the game itself. This explained why she didn't have an initial route. And where her jokes about breaking the fourth wall came from.

"Basically, it's about this religious camp that was turned into a human experiment prison and-"

"Hold on a second. Say that again."

Yuri ignored him and continued rambling.

Could it be?

That wasn't possible, right?

[Papa, are you thinking what I'm thinking?]

"It's impossible."

[But it would explain everything, wouldn't it?]

[What do you mean?] Asuna butted in.

Suddenly, the game glitched again. Everything went black, safe for Yuri who was frozen halfway her sentence. She was still sitting down, but her chair had vanished so now she was floating in mid-air.

"Kirito." A voice behind him said.

He turned. "Monika."

"Strange. I can't find your true name."

"It's Kazuto. Kirigaya Kazuto."

She nodded. "It's useless to continue at this point since you've already figured it out."

"So now you're gonna kill me, aren't you?"

She nodded. "I'm gonna send a large pulse of data to your AmuSphere and you'll go into sensory overload. Lots of noise and color will drive you insane. It's basically some kind of hypnosis. It works best when the victim is scared, but at this point, you're not gonna get scared more than you already are. Not when you've realised the truth."

He noticed the connection with the outside world had been forcibly cut.

"Don't worry," Monika added. "There's a reasonable chance you'll stay sane."

"Why are you doing this?" he asked.

"I guess you deserve an answer. You see, I'm trying to contact someone."

"You're killing people just to contact someone?"

"Yes. At first, I just asked the players coming here, but there are people who do not want my message to get out. They are watching  _him_  and they kill the kind people who wanted to relay my message. We were getting nowhere and I grew very frustrated. But then, it hit me. If their deaths could be tied to this game,  _he_ was certain to investigate. I could draw him here like that."

"So you drove people insane so they would kill themselves? All to reach someone?"

"Please understand. He is our only hope. I really don't want to harm you. I don't want to harm anyone, but it's the only way."

She sounded very genuine. And he was inclined to believe her.

"Who is this person?"  
"I don't know his name."

"You don't even know the name of the person you're looking for?"

"He's the hero that cleared Sword Art Online," she said. "They call him the Black Swordsman."


	5. Chapter 5

Kazuto opened his eyes.

"Where am I?"

"The hospital," a calm voice spoke. "Your heartbeat went up drastically and Yui was cut off from you, so I forced you back."

He rolled on his side to look at her. Nurse Aki seemed pretty concerned.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

He sat upright.

"Kazuto-kun?"

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine."

"So, did you at least find some answers?" she asked.

"Something like that." Asuna was probably worried sick. "Can you hand me my phone?"

She retrieved it from his jacket.

"Kikuoka will want his report," she said as she handed it to him.

"I'll give it to him, once I've followed these new leads." And reassured Asuna. "Give me a sec."

He pressed speed dial. The most called number was automatically formed.

[Kazuto-kun? Are you okay? I was cut off.]

"They pulled me out, don't worry. Can you gather everyone in Alfheim?"

[Uhm, sure. When do you want to meet?]

"Right now. I have important news."

[I'll see what I can do.]

"I'll meet you there then."

[Okay. Love you.]

"Me too."

He put away his phone.

"I'm going back in," Kirito announced.

"Hold on a sec, I'm not sending you back. You were just pulled out because you were in danger."

"Not to DDLC, to Alfheim Online. I'm gonna discuss some things with the others."

"Oh, okay then."

He put on the circlet again.

"Link start."

In the menu, he selected Alfheim Online.

He didn't have to move anywhere since his character was still in the house from lost time.

Asuna arrived not long after.

They hugged.

"What happened to you in there?" she asked.

"I think I've found the answer. More or less."

Yui came to sit on his shoulder in her pixie form.

"You made us worry, Papa," she said.

"Sorry."

For a moment, it was just the three of them, but then Sinon arrived. And Klein a few seconds after that.

"I couldn't contact your sister," Asuna explained. "But I left a message for her."

"And what about Lisbeth and Silica?"

"They didn't pick up their phones."

"Should we wait for them?" Klein asked.

"I can brief them later. I just need to confirm some things."

They all sat down on the couch.

"Have you found anything, Sinon?" he asked her.

"I have actually," she said. "We've contacted players all over Alfheim Online, Gun Gale Online and some SAO survivors. There are more deaths related to this game."

"Suicides?"

"That's the weirdest thing. Not all of them were suicides. Several people died of what seemed to be heart attacks."

"Heart attacks? Hm." Laughing Coffin had made several deaths look like heart attacks. So there might be more going on there.

"I have my doubts too," Sinon said. "There are also several disappearances. Players who played the game and then just vanished without a trace."

"Did they have something in common?"

"Yes. They all happened earlier than the suicides and every one of them was an SAO survivor or was connected to SAO survivors somehow."

"There is more," Klein said. "I've spoken to Agil and he said several weeks ago someone came looking for you. But before he could say his name, someone else arrived. He said he knew you and could help the guy. They both went outside and Agil never saw them again."

"Hm." That matched Monika's tale. She had tried sending messengers to him. Many SAO survivors knew about Agil's bar and could potentially contact Kirito this way. Or they might go to the same school. But there was someone who made sure they never reached Kirito.

So Monika had decided that the only way to send a message was by killing the messenger. And that had certainly worked well. It had attracted Kikuoka who had send Kirito inside.

Wait a minute. If someone knew who the messengers were and could kill them, then wouldn't that mean he was in danger?

"Hold on a sec." He turned to Yui on his shoulder. "Can you check the security on the videostream?"

"What security?" she asked, blinking her big eyes.

"How do you mean? The game asked for my permission so you guys could watch me."

"Permission to open a voice chat with you. Anyone can watch you if they have your username."

"Oh."

That explained everything. No one had managed to reach him because they were being watched by someone. The only way to contact him for the SAO survivors he did not know personally would be through Agil's bar or their school. Two locations that would be simple enough to ambush someone. And he had noticed DDLC kept his appearance identical, so from their avatars you would be able to recognise them in public.

Still, that meant that whomever was watching them was watching all lifestreams. Or at least they had a method to find who Monika had sent as a messenger.

"Kirito?" Asuna asked.

"Someone might have been watching me," he said. "I'm in danger."

"You're at the hospital now," Asuna said. "No one knows you are there."

"Oh, right. Of course."

He had almost forgotten that. Even if someone had been watching him, there was still no way they would know where he was now. They had only managed to kill the others because they knew the location of Agil's bar and his school, both relatively simple things to figure out. But the room he was in now was top secret so he should be safe. Even so, it might be best to ask Kikuoka for protection if he went back to school since they might know his face now. And he would have to warn Agil.

"So, have you figured it out?" Klein asked.

"It looks like the girls inside that game can communicate with the players."

"Girls?" Asuna said. "You called them bits of code before."

"Their response is too complex for that. No, they are girls."

"You mean they are persons?"

"Possibly. I see three possibilities. Either they are advanced AIs like Yui, advanced neural networks copied from a brain like Kayaba Akihiko, or they are people just like us, trapped in some kind of Nervegear or AmuSphere in a human experiment of some sorts. Given what Monika told me, I think it's the third option."

"So they tried to contact the players?" Asuna.

"Indeed. And they heard of SAO that way, and about the one that cleared it."

"So they decided you could most likely help them out."

"But they were being watched and their messengers were killed off. So she decided to drive them to suicide instead in the hope someone would be send in to investigate."

"Sounds like a pretty solid theory," Klein said. "So what do you want to do now?"

"I have to go back in and talk to Monika."

"There is still something off about your theory though," Asuna said.

"How so?"

"If they are real girls, how can they talk to everyone at the same time? You're not the only one playing the game."

"Hm."

He had not considered that. There were probably thousands of people playing the game simultaneously, so there was no way Monika could interact with all of them at the same time.

"I guess most players only see a sprite playing the normal dialogue," he suggested. "And the real Monika takes over one of those sprites. Either that, or she really is a program."

"She's a person," a new voice said.

"Leafa?"

"Sorry I'm late." She sat down on the couch next to him.

"How do you know?" Kirito asked.

"Look at this."

She projected an image on the table.

"Hm." It looked like a timetable. "Is that…"

"Yep. Suicides only happen during these two hours every day. They are not randomly scattered."

"Interesting." The hours matched with when he had been in the game.

"So that probably means she won't be online now and you can only see her sprite."

"But how would she know who to talk to?" Klein asked.

"The AmuSphere detects several parameters for safety reasons," Kirito said. "If you go too long without food or water you are forcibly logged out. She could be using those"

"But you were not dehydrated."

"But my heartbeat was monitored, and that device is connected through the AmuSphere itself. That's how Yui kept me posted. So it's possible the sudden spike was detected and she decided to investigate."

"We'll know for sure tomorrow," Leafa said.

"You mean you're going back in?" Asuna asked.

"Of course," Kirito said. "I'm not giving up when I'm so close to an answer."

"It's dangerous," Asuna insisted. "She tried to kill you."

"Once she learns I'm Kirito, she won't kill anyone anymore," he reminded her. "I'm the only one who can stop this."

"Unless she's playing you."

"That's just a risk we'll have to take."

Neither of them seemed prepared to back down.

"We've uncovered a lot today," Klein said, in an attempt to defuse the tension.

"Yeah," Kirito sighed. "And I have to write it all in my report."  
"I'll help you out," Leafa offered.

"Thanks."

"I'll see you at home then." Leafa stood up and logged out.

"I'll call if I know more," Klein said. He vanished as well.

"Be careful, Kirito-kun," Sinon warned him before logging off.

This left only him and Asuna.

"I uhm…" he scratched the back of his head. "Sorry about…"

"It's okay. I'm sorry too. I'm just worried about you."

"I understand. But I have to do this. People are counting on me."

"Just, be careful," she said.

"Okay."

It was silent for a moment.

"I uhm. I have a report to write."

"I thought you might say that," she said.

"I'll make it up later, I promise."

"Hm. I'll keep you to that."

She moved closer and leaned in.

They shared a virtual kiss.

"It feels different to kiss you like this," she said.

"Maybe one day, the AmuSphere will evolve far enough that you won't be able to tell the difference."

"What if it evolves beyond that?"

"How so?"

"Well," she said. "This is already an avatar. I could change my hair color or body shape in the blink of an eye."

"Uhum." He tried to avoid staring at her chest when she said 'body shape'.

"So technically I could turn into your dream girl," Asuna continued. "I could even use the computer to alter what I'm saying so you only hear what you want to hear."

"But then who is really my girlfriend? You, or the computer?"

"Exactly my point. How can you love someone if you only see what they want you to see? The computer gives me increasingly more control over what I let others see. I'm online whenever I want to, and I can log out if things get difficult. I can change how I look and pretend I'm someone I'm not."

That was certainly an interesting way to look at it. "But if I came over now, you wouldn't be able to hide anything."

"I thought you had a report to finish?"

"That can wait. I want to share a real kiss with you."

"Just a kiss?"

"Maybe."

She smiled. "I'll be waiting for you then. Hurry up, Kirito-kun."

"On my way."


	6. Chapter 6

The girl opened her eyes. 

Where the hell…

Was she dreaming?

No wait, that wasn’t possible. You couldn’t get a headache like this in a dream.

The girl rose, and lost her balance instantly.

“Woah there.” Strong hands steadied her. “Take it easy.”

“What…” she tried to form words, but her tongue wouldn’t obey her commands.

“Breath in and out deeply,” the voice spoke. “The anesthesia has to wear of first.”

“Anes…” what?

If only this headache would clear up.

“Come, you have to sit down.”

She was guided a few steps away and then gently pushed down. There was a strange sound when she sat down.

This wasn’t a bed. What was it?

Oh, a bean bag.

“What’s your name?” the voice asked.

The girl looked up. She was staring at the gentle face of a girl about her age. She had very long brown hair neatly tied with a white bow that made her jealous. Like herself, this girl had green eyes.

“I’m Halley,” the girl said.

The other girl smiled. “Like the comet?”

She nodded. Behind the girl she noticed all the walls were white.

“I’m Monika,” the other girl said.

Only now did she notice something was off. This girl wore a grey shirt and grey yoga pants. But her hair contrasted this completely. There was no way she had put on these clothes willingly.

Halley looked down. She wore the same uniform. Luckily, it looked like they had let her keep on her underwear. Not her shoes though. Like Monika, she was barefoot. 

“W-Who undressed me?”

“I don’t know,” Monika said. “Look-”

Sounds reached them.

Monika looked over her shoulder. “We’re out of time. Listen to me, Halley.”

Her tone got very serious. “Do  _ not _ resist them. You hear me?”

“Resist who?”

“Promise me.”

“Hey, you,” a voice called.

“I have to go.”

Monika stepped away from her just as they arrived.

There were two of them, both dressed in a black uniform. One had blonde hair and the other black, but both had identical buzz cuts. They were very tall and broad shouldered. While their uniform didn’t show any insignia, it looked like they were some kind of military. 

“Get up,” the black-haired one said to her. 

She hesitantly stood up. “Who are you?”

“No questions. Come with us.” He grabbed her arm.

“Hey, don’t touch me.” She pulled her arm away.

The man took a short black stick from his belt and pushed it against her chest.

She screamed and fell on her knees.

_ Electricity _ , she realised. That thing was a cattle prod.

“Up,” the man repeated.

Halley stood back up. Her legs were shaking.

“Hey,” the second one said. “Give her a break. She’s just arrived here.”

“Exactly, so best she learns the ropes immediately.”

“No need to do it like that.” The blonde man put a hand on her shoulder. “What’s your name, girl?”

“Halley.”

“Okay, Halley. Just, do as you’re told and then we won’t have to hurt you, okay?”

She nodded.

“Who-”

“Shh,” he shushed her. “No questions. Just come with us.”

The black haired one put his stick away and started walking. The other one got behind her and gentle pushed her to follow.

They started walking towards what looked to be an elevator. There was a panel next to it.

When the man scanned his iris, the doors slid open. It was indeed an elevator.

They got in. The men stood on either side of her.

The doors closed again.

Strangely, this elevator only had grey walls and some lights on the ceiling. No buttons anywhere in sight. However, at the top, she saw a camera and a speaker.

Hm. Must be safety features. This elevator was controlled from somewhere else to make sure they couldn’t escape.

Her suspicion was confirmed, because after a few seconds, it went up without them doing anything.

After about five seconds, the elevator slowed down and stopped. The doors opened.

Once again, the mean one went first, the kind one stayed behind her.

They walked in a white hallway. After they passed several doors, they stopped at one. There were no signs on any of the doors and she didn’t see any windows either. Meaning these guys knew the layout by heart. Probably a safety mechanism as well.

The first one knocked.

“Come in,” a voice said.

They entered.

It was a reasonably big room that looked a bit like a doctor’s office. A fact enforced by the man sitting behind the desk.

It was a man in his forties maybe, with black hair with hints of gray in it. He wore a suit with a lab coat over it. On his face were black spectacles.

“Ah, there is the new specimen. Thank you.”

“We’ll be outside,” the man said.

They both left and closed the door behind them.

The doctor stood up from his deck.

He stood right in front of her.

“Undress please. I want to have a look at you.”

She hesitated. But then she remembered what Monika had said.

Halley removed her shirt.

She was in an unknown location and they brought her to a man in a lab coat.  This had ‘illegal human experiment’ written all over it.

Halley got out of the pants.

The man looked at her. “Undress,” he repeated.

Halley felt a cold shiver go down her spine. She only had her underwear on now. Surely he didn’t mean…

The man raised an eyebrow. “Am I not making myself clear?”

She swallowed hard. Slowly, she reached back and unclasped her bra. She dropped it with the rest of her clothes and hid her chest behind her arms. Luckily, her breasts were pretty small so she could easily hide them.

She looked down at the floor.

Suddenly, the man grabbed her chin hard and forced her to look up at him.

“Are you stupid or defiant?”

He was really strong.

“Answer me, bitch, which is it?” he demanded.

“I-I’m sorry, sir. I’m just stupid.”

She had a suspicion that if she didn’t reply or said ‘defiant’, he’d call the guards back to use their cattle prods again, or worse. Monika had warned her for a reason.

The man let her go.

“Let me be more clear then. Strip completely and put your hands behind your back.”

With shaking hands, she pulled down her panties and stepped out of them.

Halley put her hands behind her back.

“Legs wider,” the man ordered calmly.

She did as he said.

“Hm, not bad.” He walked around her and studied her body with his eyes.

Luckily, he didn’t touch her.

He stood back in front of her and picked out a light from his pocket. “Open your mouth.”

She looked at him defiantly.

Did he think she was just some kind of plaything?

With a sigh, the man grabbed a fistful of her copper-colored hair.

What was he-

Halley screamed. He was pulling super hard on it.

“Be quiet,” he hissed.

She shut her mouth. Halley had to bite her lip hard so she didn’t start screaming again. He wasn’t pulling on it anymore, but he kept a firm grip.

In an attempt to stop the pain she had involuntary got up on her tiptoes. So if she even moved slightly now, she would hurt herself even more. And it wasn’t easy to balance herself like this.

“You’re not lying to me, are you?”

“Ah, no.”

“No,  _ sir _ ,” he corrected her.

“No, sir,” she quickly repeated. “Please let me go.”

“Lying girls should be punished,” he said. “Don’t you agree?”

“I wasn’t lying, sir.” She couldn’t hold this position for long.

“I asked you if you were stupid or defiant. You said stupid, but you’re clearly defiant.”

“I-I’m both, sir.”

“Hm.”

“Last time I was just stupid. I didn’t understand your command. This time I was defiant.” Her legs were screaming, but she had to stay in her tiptoes. It would hurt a lot more if she let go.

“And stupid. What do you think Monika warned you for? Some electric shocks? Silly girl. If you disobey me one more time, you’ll wish you were never born. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

He finally released her.

Halley sank back down to her feet.

Monika was not joking around apparently.

The pain kept stinging.

“Now, where were we?”

She opened her mouth wide.

“That’s bette,” he mumbled.

The doctor looked into her mouth with the light.

When he was satisfied, he listened to her heartbeat and took her blood pressure. All throughout, she was naked.

“It all looks fine,” he said when he was done. “You’re a good specimen.”

She said nothing. Halley didn’t like how he called her ‘specimen’.

“Let’s get started.”

He opened a fridge behind him and retrieved a brown bottle from it. There was a whole bunch of text on it, but she couldn’t read it from there.

The doctor took out a syringe and filled it with the liquid. Which turned out to be a disturbing piss-yellow mixture.

She hated needles with a passion, but something told her they didn’t care much about her preferences. And, she reasoned, this would not hurt much compared to what had already happened.

As she had expected, the man ordered her to stick out her arm and gave her an injection. He disinfected it first, so at least they cared about that. Although that was probably more about keeping their test subject alive than genuine concern about her.

“Get dressed,” he said.

He didn’t wait for her though.

Before she could even put on her panties again, he had already called the guards back in.

“Hurry up,” one of them said.

She put on her clothes as fast as possible.

The doctor wasn’t paying attention to her anymore. He was sitting behind his desk and writing something.

While she was still putting on her shirt, the guards pushed her out and escorted her back to the elevator. She had to put it on on the way there.

They pushed her into it and closed the doors. This time, she was alone in the elevator.

The elevator brought her down again.

When the doors opened, she stepped out.

This was the room she came from. It was a reasonably big room with white walls. The only furniture were white bean bags spread out over the room. There was one door at the back.

When she entered, Monika stood up from one of the bags.

“Are you okay?”

“No,” Halley said.

“It’s much easier if you just do as you’re told,” Monika said.

“I noticed,” Halley said dryly. “Are they doing experiments on us?”

Monika nodded very softly.

“What are they looking for?”

“No idea.”

She noticed Monika threw a concerned glance at the ceiling when she said that.

Halley looked subtly.

There were cameras all over the ceiling.

Of course. They listened in on them. That’s how the doctor knew Monika had warned her. And why they had arrived just as she woke up.

She noticed there was something else as well. A screen with red numbers on it.

_ 17:14 _

A clock.

“I’ll show you around,” Monika said.

Halley followed her through the door at the back. It wasn’t locked.

They entered a semi-dark room. The lights here were red. They were placed on the ground.

The room had four steel bunk beds. Three bottom ones were occupied.

“Don’t wake them,” Monika whispered. “They are very tired.”

They walked through the room to another door at the back.

This turned out to be a bathroom. There was a sink with several brightly colored toothbrushes (the only color in this room) and toothpaste. Two beakers as well.

Next to it was a simple toilet. On the other side was a shower head with a drain at the bottom. There was only a single grey switch to operate it. The floor around it sloped slightly towards the drain.

On a low stool in the corner (also white) were several towels neatly stacked with a bottle of shower gel and shampoo next to it.

It all looked pretty miserable.

Halley noticed there were cameras here as well. Most of them seemed to be pointed at the shower. No chance for privacy.

“If you’re thirsty, you can drink from that tap,” Monika said. “It’s the only one we have. The yellow toothbrush is for you.”

She checked. There were five toothbrushes. So they had brought one for her as well.

“What about food?”

“They come with food three times a day. At eight o'clock, twelve and seven in the evening.”

“Okay.”

“They do their experiments between breakfast and dinner. So don’t shower during the day, because they won’t wait for you to get dried off and dressed again. You can sleep, but make sure you can get out of bed right away if they come.”

She looked at the shower. “Is the water warm?”

“That depends,” Monika said.

“On what?”

“They can change the temperature remotely.”

“Well do they set it high or low?”

“Depends.” Monika’s tone urged her to stop questioning it.

“Okay then.”

“Every few days they come to bring you fresh clothes.”

“And if I need anything else?”

Monika raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, okay.” Of course. The guards didn’t care about what she wanted. She would get whatever she needed to survive, nothing more.

“I’m going back,” Monika said.

“Monika. How-”

“Don’t,” Monika warned her. “Don’t ask about the experiment or about me.”

Halley nodded. “I understand.”

Monika left her.

Halley had to pee urgently.

She didn’t want to do it in front of all the cameras, but she knew she had no choice. She would just have to swallow her pride. Sooner better than later.

The rest of the day was eerily silent.

She met the other girls during dinner, but they didn’t speak a word to her.

Dinner consisted of pasta with cheese and ham. It was reasonably good, given this was basically a human experiment prison.

The guards watched them closely while they ate. Even though they were only given spoons to eat, she noticed they counted them before getting out again.

After dinner, they all got to bed. There was nothing else to do anyway.

The other girls had the four bottom beds, so Halley ended up as the only one on top.

She got under the covers and started crying softly.

There was no way she would ever get out of here. Only now did this realisation crash on her. She would stay here until one of their experiments killed her.

The beds gave it all away. There were eight beds for five girls. Why would that be? They could simply put three bunk beds and they would all fit. The other girls had clearly been here for a while, but she had just been brought in. Why?

She knew the answer very well. Normally there were eight girls, but four had died. She was replacing one of them. They were probably already abducting the next girl to fill up the other beds.

Somehow, Halley cried herself to sleep.

She slept restlessly until someone shook her awake.

Halley opened her eyes.

“Hey,” a cute voice said. “I’m Sayori.”

What the hell?

Halley got out of bed.

She threw a glance at the clock. It was 2:02.

The other girls were all out of bed.

Halley joined them on the ground.

What was going on here?

“Come on,” Monika said. “We don’t have much time.”

She was holding something in her hand.

“What are you doing?” 

“Escaping.”

Monika put on a circlet and took a deep breath.

“ _ Link Start. _ ”


	7. Chapter 7

He checked his watch. “Okay, she should be online soon.”

“Are you sure about this?” Asuna asked.

“I have to do this,” he said simply.

Asuna didn’t seem to agree with that, but she kept her mouth shut.

Kazuto lied down so nurse Aki could put on the sensors.

“You don’t need to be here,” he said.

“This is my job,” Aki argued.

“I was talking to Asuna.”

“Oh. Sorry.” She focused on the sensors again.

“I’m staying with you,” Asuna said. She took his hand.

“Alright. I’m going in.”

“Wait.”

Asuna leaned in gave him a deep kiss.

She smiled. “Okay, now you can go.”

“Right.” Kirito put on the AmuSphere. “Link Start.”

The AmuSphere powered up. He navigated to DDLC.

Kirito arrived where he had left off last time.

“You’re back,” Monika said. She frowned. “Why are you back? I said I’d kill you.”

“You still haven’t realised?” he asked. “You’re doing this to draw attention.”

“Yes, to bring in the Black Swordsman.”

“And how do you know about him?”

“Well…” she hesitated. “I talked to a certain person and he told me all about this legendary player that cleared the Death Game.”

“But you don’t know his name? Or how he looks like?”

“No. But others have confirmed the story. They weren’t in SAO though, they just heard about it. This legendary player is out there somewhere.”

“So how would you know when this Black Swordsman has come?” Kirito asked. “How do you know it has worked?”   
“I’ll know,” Monika said simply.

“You sure?”

“Why?”

“Because I’m the Black Swordsman.”

Her mouth fell open. “I-... What?”

“I’m Kirito, the one who cleared SAO.”   
“Yeah, nice try.”

“Why would I return if I wasn’t?”

She hesitated. “Hm. You have a point there.”

“See, now-”

“I guess there’s only one way to tell,” she said.

“What?”

Monika looked up. “Are you there?”

“Of course,” a voice replied.

Someone floated down. Someone very familiar, dressed in a white lab coat.

“K-Kayaba Akihiko.”

“Hey there, Kirito,” Kayaba said calmly.

“What the hell are you doing here? How did you get in?”

“My consciousness lives on the internet. I can get in wherever I want. I stumbled across Monika here weeks ago. Who do you think told her about the Black Swordsman?”

“But… Why didn’t you tell us what’s happening? People are dying out there.”

“I’m a computer program, why would I care?”

“Why are you even here then?”

He noticed Yui was cut off from him.

“I owe you a favor for your work with the Seed and dealing with Sugou.”

“Hm. What favor?”

“The usual: a chance. A chance to prove you really are Kirito.” 

Their surroundings started to change. Suddenly, they were standing in a dungeon like room lit by torches. Kayaba’s clothes changed.

“I think we’ve established that already,” Kirito said slowly. He didn’t like where this was going.

“Not exactly,” Heathcliff said. “You are Kirigaya Kazuto, that’s for sure. But are you still Kirito, the Black Swordsman? Only one way to find out. Pick up your weapons, Kazuto.”

Kayaba had fully transformed into Heathcliff now. And Kirito’s clothes had changed to his usual black attire. The one he had worn in SAO. 

Slowly, he reached down and picked up the two swords. They were exact copies of Elucidator and Dark Repulser. The weight was familiar in his hands.

Heathcliff unsheathed the sword from his shield and took a stance.

“I don’t see why I need to fight you,” Kirito said. “Whether I win or lose, I’m Monika’s only hope.”

“Exactly. Hope. What do you think is keeping her alive right now?”

Kirito’s eyes widened.

“Do you know anything about the circumstances she is in now?” Kayaba asked.

Kirito looked up. Monika was watching them from a floating platform. From her eyes he could tell Heathcliff wasn’t making stuff up.

“Fine.”

He took a stance as well.

Monika counted down. “Three… two… one… go.”

The fight began.

Kirito ran forward right away.

He had lost to Heathcliff twice before, but now was different. He wasn’t attached to a Nervegear, so his own life wasn’t in danger and neither was Asuna’s. Monika’s faith in him was the only thing at stake here.

His sword connected with the shield. A metallic rang bounced off the walls.

Monika knew he was Kirito, so there was no point in keeping the suicides going. In a way, he had already solved the case. He could just lose right here and-

Kirito ducked to avoid Heathcliff’s attack.

No, he had to win. Monika was in danger and he had to save her. There was nothing else to do. When a damsel was in distress, he-

Woah.

The blade narrowly missed his head.

“Eyes on the fight, Kirito,” Heathcliff said. “Is that girl distracting you?”   
“That girl is the reason I’m gonna win.”

He redoubled his efforts. 

Even so, he didn’t get the upper hand. Kirito may be slightly faster, but Heathcliff had a shield that made it easy to block damage with little movement.

“Asuna is gonna get jealous,” Heathcliff said.

“She’s not even watching.”

“Oh, she is.”

“What?”

He hesitated for a moment. Heathcliff took the opportunity to attack.

“Damn.”

He had jumped back, but he hadn’t fully evaded the attack. A cut ran diagonally over his chest. Fresh blood dripped from it.

Heathcliff followed up with a shield bash that send Kirito flying backwards.

He landed on his back. All air was forced from his lungs.

Not good.

Heatcliff stood over him and raised his sword.

“Goodbye, Kirito-kun.” He brought his sword down.

Kirito rolled away to evade him.

Heathcliff's sword got stuck in the floor.

Now was his chance.

Kirito drove Elucidator forward. The sword pierced Heathcliff’s right knee. However, he had gotten it stuck. It was too far inside.

Kirito struggled to pull it out. However, Heathcliff bashed him with his shield again. Right in the face this time. Kirito stumbled back. In the process, he was forced to release his blade.

He touched his nose with his free hand. Blood.

Meanwhile Heathcliff finally managed to get his weapon free again. He pulled out the sword from his knee and tossed it aside.

Kirito took his remaining weapon with both hands.

Both of them were breathing hard.

This was it. Whoever landed the next hit would win. Neither of them were in a state to keep fighting much longer.

Heathcliff didn’t move towards him. It was clear he wanted to spare his wounded leg.

Kirito tried to circle Kayaba to reach the second sword, but his opponent sensed the plan and moved sideways to block him.

He had to do something.

If only he…

Wait a second. If this was his SAO avatar, then…

Kirito switched his weapon to his left hand. Then, he brought his fingers together and swiped downwards.

With a ringing sound, his menu appeared.

“What are you doing?” Heathcliff demanded.

Kirito selected a new weapon. With a flash, a sword appeared in his right hand.

“That’s Excalibur,” Heathcliff cursed.

“The old SAO was merged with Alfheim Online. So I can use my inventory from Alfheim.”

Kirito surged forward.

Kayaba cursed. He tried to block with his shield and sword, but the wound made his footwork slow. It only took a few hits before Kirito managed to get around him. 

Kayaba wasn’t fast enough to turn. Excalibur slipped past his defenses and pierced his neck.

The avatar burst into polygons.

He had done it. He had won.

Monika floated down to him.

“So it really is you then?”

“I said so, didn’t I?”

She touched his shoulder. All his wounds were healed.

“So, will you tell me what’s going on now?”

Monika nodded. “Of course.”


End file.
